Maritime Administration April 7, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) plans to dispose of an obsolete vessel, the ex-USNS COMET (T-AK-269), which is currently located at its Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, California. MARAD, in consultation with the California State Historic Preservation Office, determined that the vessel is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion c. The ex-USNS COMET is considered to be the first purpose-built oceangoing ``roll-on/roll- off'' vessel. Roll-on/roll-off, or Ro/Ro, describes how wheeled- vehicular cargo is loaded and unloaded. MARAD is authorized to provide qualified public and non-profit organizations the opportunity to obtain, via donation, obsolete ships from the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) for use as memorials and/or in other non-commercial enterprises. Accordingly, MARAD is issuing this notice to provide the public and non-profit organizations such an opportunity. For donation application information, please see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below.